Hi everyone! I wanted to stop by and introduce myself. Im Kim, mom of 3, happily married to the man of my dreams. I currently work full time, go to school full time, and my newest endevor is to lose 120 lbs. I have been on a downward spiral for some time now, beginning with the deterioration of my first marriage. I have never been a small girl, but Im determined to find her in me! (3 kids in 5 years has not been pleasant on my body)

I just began working out with intensity recently, sunday for instance I worked out with my little sister (who started her weight loss journey about 6 months ago). We did about 45 mins on the elliptical/precore trainers. yesterday my quads were SOOOOO tight... today I am in a fair amt of pain from them being so tight. I have taken hot baths, used biofreeze, ibprofen, and tried stretching, each thing seems to help for 5 minutes before they tighten up again.

So I guess my question is, should I continue to rest, or go back to the gym and workout (just at a lighter intensity, maybe shorter period of time)?

Lastly I wanted to know if there were any challanges going on that I could join to make me more motivated?

I just began working out with intensity recently, sunday for instance I worked out with my little sister (who started her weight loss journey about 6 months ago). We did about 45 mins on the elliptical/precore trainers.

So I guess my question is, should I continue to rest, or go back to the gym and workout (just at a lighter intensity, maybe shorter period of time)?
Kim

WOW! when I first started on the elliptical, I could only do about 5 minutes, lol!! I'd say give yourself a day or so of rest, then start slower (15 min?). the exercise after you've rested will probably loosen you up. that's from my experience, not from being any kind of trainer. I don't think it's a bad idea when your starting out to get help from a certified trainer to get a good routine down. You don't even have to do a gazillion sessions. I'll tell you, when I've gotten injured from exercises, it can take a long time for me to recover and throw off my routine. Slow and steady is the better idea.

I happen to like the treadmill, you can adjust the angle to add to the workout. It's good for balance, and will make you sweat. And it's easy on your body.

Sounds like you might have gotten ahead of yourself a bit! But I admire your stamina! What about just walking to start with and maybe a little strength training to balance things out? I think there is a tendency to burn out quickly when you start off too big. That said, everyone is different.

You know its really funny, because I used to be a cross country runner in high school, and its like i know my body is differnt, but my head keeps pushing myself to do something close to what I did before. I talked to my trainer today, and she said to come in and work out a little bit, maybe focus on the upper body, but to do a little bit on the bike that will be easier on my legs and reduce the lactic acid buildup...

I need to learn that right now i am the "fat girl"..... just strive for the skinny girl

Look on the bright side, as a "fat girl" you get more bang for your exercise buck because you are moving more weight than someone who weighs 120 pounds. Heck, just moving around during the day for you burns way more calories than a smaller person! I think about it every time I pick up a 25 pound bag of my dogs' food. I had four of those hanging off me. How on earth I walked anywhere without collapsing is a miracle in itself.

CLC: You definitley have a point! Although, even being 250 pounds, i never let myself have the vision of "Im obese, I cant do xyz" I was always like, lets go for walks, lets do this, lets do that... True some of these things have been incredibly HARD buuuuut I've still managed to at least survive in life to this point.

Bcourt: I hear what you're saying, I have always had a horrible self image, and its amazing it hasnt stopped me from more things in life. I have always "done" what everyone else does, but maybe not had the easiest time doing it, or not been the happiest.... You know what I mean? My head is always playing these games with me, my head tells me I cant, but my goal is and has always been to prove myself wrong, and break through and do it.

So even with these logs that I refer to as legs, I made it to the gym, I tried another kind of workout machine, a little less strenuous, but also works out your butt and hips. Its a cross between a bike and an elliptical, though i think its more of a cross between the elliptical/stair stepper..... very low impact on my joints, pretty easy on my legs.... I worked out on that, the treadmill and did some upperbody strength training.

So I made it through it, and today the pain in my quads seems to be subsiding. I really thought yesterday that I wanted to die..... If i make it through this first week it will be amazing LOL.... Back to the gym tonight... :-)